Epidemic
by YellowRocksMySocks
Summary: Tony has the flu, and then Clint catches it. Soon, Beth has an epidemic on her hands!
1. Chapter 1

**Here is the first chapter of a new ficlet! As always, your reviews and ideas are greatly appreciated. Enjoy!**

"Achoo!" I heard from the living room.

"Bless you!" I called, but they didn't reply. I huffed. _You're welcome. _I thought sarcastically and continued reading at the table.

"Achoo! Achoo! ACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I was taken aback by the sheer volume of that last sneeze, and decided to investigate. Upon entering the living room, I found a rumpled Tony lying on the couch, his right arm draped over his face.

I chuckled. "You okay?" I asked, and approached the billionaire.

He waved his other arm at me. "No! Go away, Beth! I'm sick!" he answered, _very _congested.

"You sound like it..." I commented, and with that he lifted him arm off of his face to reveal an extremely haggard and pale uncle, glaring at me.

"Yikes. You look like it too." I reached for his arm. "Let's get you to bed, okay?"

Tony just rolled his eyes and allowed me to help him walk to his room. Once he finally flopped onto his mattress, he breathed really heavily and there were little beads of sweat on his forehead. _Definitely the flu..._

"Just try and get some rest, okay?" I told him.

Tony merely gave me a weak nod and turned over in his sheets.

* * *

I was rifling through the medicine cabinet for the thermometer when I heard a creak in the floorboards behind me. I could tell somebody was trying to sneak up on me. After waiting a moment longer, I whirled around to see Clint with his arms raised about to grab my shoulders.

"Can I help you?" I asked him, and resumed my search. The superspy deflated as he leaned against the adjacent cabinet.

"C'mon. I can't believe you heard me..." he said, crestfallen.

"Maybe you're just losing your touch?" I suggested with an exaggerated rise of the eyebrows. I cheered when I finally found the pesky thermometer.

Clint gasped in mock horror. "How dare y-ACHOOOOOOOOOOO!" he replied, and was pushed backward by the force of his sneeze, nearly knocking himself into the counter.

My eyes widened. _That sounded just like Tony. _"Come here, birdbrain. Let me see if you have a fever." Clint glared at me but obliged. I set my hand on his forehead. _Yikes. _

Giving him the thermometer, I checked on Tony. Luckily, he was asleep. Unfortunately, he was somehow paler than before and had sweated through his t-shirt.

Clint yelled something at me, but it was garbled by the thermometer. I went back to the kitchen and took it out of his mouth. 103. _103!?_

I sighed, realizing that I had an epidemic on my hands. "Go get some rest, Clint." I said, and nudged him in the direction of his room. He meekly nodded and trudged away.

_This is gonna be so much fun..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter! I made it longer to make up for the absence of updates! Love you guys!**

I had just finished rewetting the cold cloth for Tony's forehead when Steve walked in the room.

"Hey, Beth?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"What's up?" I replied while repositioning the washcloth. Tony's eyebrows twitched but he didn't wake up.

"I, uh..." Steve began, but didn't finish. I turned my head to find him rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding my eyes. He only did that when he was embarrassed.

I walked up to the sheepish super-soldier. "You-uh-what?" I mocked.

After another moment of neck-rubbing, he met my questioning gaze. "I can't...find Natasha." he finally disclosed.

I barked a laugh, surprised. "What do you mean, you can't find her?" I asked.

"Well, she told me that she was going to check on Clint. I went by his room a while later to ask Natasha if she needed anything from the store. Clint said she hadn't stopped by. So, I searched for her. All over the tower. Nobody else has seen her..." he explained.

I frowned. "Weird. I'll help you look for her again." I volunteered, and we left Tony to rest some more.

* * *

After an hour of searching, we found Natasha hiding in an air duct in the gym. We probably wouldn't have spotted her if it weren't for the booming sneeze that echoed throughout the large room. I yelped and grabbed onto Steve's arm. He laughed at me, so I punched him. That's when we heard a chuckle. Looking around, we spotted a flash of red hair in the air vent.

"Natasha?" I asked. "Why are you hiding in there?"

"No reason." she replied, sounding congested- exactly like Tony.

I sighed out of frustration. I knew exactly what was going on, and I certainly wasn't happy about it. The stupid virus was spreading quite rapidly, and now, half of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes had the flu.

"Really?" I mocked, hands on my hips. "No reason? How about you're sick too and you're upset about it. Master assassins can get the flu you know..."

I must have struck a nerve. Natasha opened the air vent without saying a word and began climbing down. I froze. I looked at Steve. His eyes were wide. _She's gonna kill me._

"I'll go see if Tony or Clint need anything." Steve said and practically sprinted out of the gym. I turned around to see the Black Widow quickly striding toward me. I desperately wanted to run, but my feet were stuck to the ground. I couldn't even put my foot in my mouth.

Natasha got face to face with me. She stared into my eyes with a piercing gaze. I opened my mouth to apologize, to beg, to anything so I wouldn't be mercilessly beaten. But, before I could speak, she sighed and looked away; her normally regal posture had been crumpled.

"Just...just get me some tea-please?" she asked, clenching her fists on her pants. I could tell that she had to take a giant bite of humble pie in order to ask for me to take care of her. It wasn't that Natasha was excessively prideful. She was just so used always watching out for us and herself that it was unsettling to have to tables turned.

I let out my fear in a giant exhale and smiled slightly. "Sure." I replied. "I'll have it to you in ten minutes."

* * *

I brought the mug of tea to Natasha's room, and found her already asleep, snuggled under her surprising amount of throw pillows. If deadly assassins are actually able to snuggle. I quickly went downstairs and poured her tea into a thermos and then set it on her nightstand.

Upon exiting her bedroom, my ears were graced with the sound of somebody violently vomiting in the hall bathroom. _You have got_ _to be kidding me. Well, it's either Steve, Bruce or Thor._

I slowly approached to door and rapped on it. "Go away, Beth. I'm fine..." came Steve's voice. "I'll be out in a minute and then I'll go check on Clint." he said, and promptly vomited again.

I laughed incredulously and opened the door. "I don't think so." I replied. "You're just as sick as they are. Room. _Now._" I ordered and pointed in its direction. Steve glowered at me.

"Quit being a brat." I said, raising my eyebrows.

Steve continued to glower and walked down the hallway without a word.

_This is getting ridiculous._

* * *

"Bruce?" I called as I entered the lab. "Do you know of any other ways to bring somebody's temperature down besides a cold cloth? Like, maybe an ice bath or something?"

No reply. That was pretty normal-usually Bruce was so engrossed in whatever he was working on that you would have to stand right in front of him to get him to notice you.

However, this was different. Bruce wasn't hunched over a table or manipulating the holograms. I found him passed out behind a desk. He was lying against it and looked dangerously pale.

I ran over and knelt down next to my uncle. "Bruce!" I shouted, and shook him by the shoulders. "BRUCE! Wake up!"

Suddenly, he began to cough and began to sit up. "Where am I?" He groggily asked.

"You're in the lab. You passed out. I'm guessing from the flu that's been going around. I grab his hand and help Bruce to his feet. "Off to bed with ya!" I ordered.

"No, Beth. I'm fine. Probably just dehydrated. I have been working pretty hard lately..." he tried to excuse, and then let out a giant sneeze.

I sighed and pushed him in the direction of the doorway. "I'm disappointed, Brucie. I thought that you of all people would be mature about this..." I mocked. "You are a doctor, after all..." I commented.

Bruce sighed, and I saw his shoulders slump. "That's why I can't believe I didn't see this coming..." he said.

* * *

Well, everybody was sick except for me and Thor, who was busy attending to his home world. Luckily, he did tell me before he left for his monthly visit that we still could communicate via Heimdall, the gatekeeper. I walked out onto the roof after getting Bruce to rest.

There was a nice breeze blowing. I turned away from the bright sunset and looked toward the sky. I wasn't really sure how to begin a conversation with an all-seeing god across the universe.

"Here goes nothing..." I mumbled. "Uh, Heimdall? It's Beth, your friend Thor's little sister of sorts. But, I guess you probably already knew that...um, yeah. Could you get a message to Thor? The rest of the Avengers have a nasty case of the flu, and I kinda need somebody to help care for them who can't catch the virus. You know, if he isn't super busy or anything tending to the kingdom or whatever. Yeah. Thanks?" I finished, awkwardly wringing my hands.

My awkward request was met with silence, and I paced around cursing myself for being an idiot in front of one of Thor's buddies. After a couple of minutes of excruciating silence spent wondering if Heimdall was just laughing at me at the other end of space, the familiar rush of sound, wind, and color that was the Bifrost shot down and made contact a few feet from where I was standing.

Thor was grinning in his armored glory. "I came as soon as Heimdall alerted me of your troubles. He also urged me to inform you that he thinks you 'most adorable in your ramblings'". He said with what I swore was mirth in his eyes.

I crossed my arms and glared at the sky. "Thanks, dude." I said, my voice tinged with mock-annoyance. Thor embraced my in a quick hug.

"You say that all of our comrades have fallen ill?" he asked, concern filling his voice.

I nodded. "Yup. Fever, chills, vomiting-you name it, they have it." I explained. "It's not exactly easy caring for five sick superheroes on my own. Can you stay here and pitch in?" I asked of my brother.

He put a meaty hand on my shoulder. "Of course, Beth. Lady Sif is more than capable of leading Asgard in my absence. She is one of my very closest friends and allies, and the fiercest warrior I have ever encountered. You must meet her sometime. I feel you both would get along quite well." he spoke.

I smiled. "Maybe when everyone is back to normal I can visit." I suggested, and we walked down the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the last chapter! Please review and send more ideas my way!**

"Steve! Go back to bed! You're not helping me out by sneezing in everybody's soup!"

"Bruce! I will get your meds! You being too tired to see straight does not make you able to portion them out correctly!"

"Clint! Get down from the rafters! Hiding from the thermometer does not make your temperature go down!"

"Natasha! Quit sulking and just throw up already! Having to puke doesn't make you any less deadly!"

"Tony! SHUT UP! You're not the only sick one around here, and even if you were, complaining does absolutely nothing to make you any better!"

That had been my entire afternoon and evening, and if Thor hadn't made me take a break and let out some steam by pushing me out of the kitchen and into my room, I would have ripped my hair out and stamped it into the floor. At the moment, I was sitting in a warm bath with a washcloth over my face, breathing in the French scentsy candles Clint got me on a recent mission.

After I had sufficiently relaxed, I put on my comfiest pajamas and walked downstairs, slightly apprehensive about what might be waiting for me.

Instead of everybody dying and the Tower set ablaze, Thor was stirring a pot of what smelled like chicken soup and was quietly humming to himself.

I quietly approached the demigod so as not to disturb his singing. Thor noticed me and smiled as he hummed and continued stirring. After a while his song ended.

"That was beautiful." I complimented and added a dash of pepper to the pot.

"Thank you." he replied. "It is a tune that has been passed down in my family for ages. It is about Yggdrasil, the World Tree that connects the nine realms. My mother would sing it to us as children."

I smiled. "Did you remake the entire batch of soup?" I inquired.

Thor nodded. "Steve sneezed directly into the pot just after you left." he answered.

I snickered in spite of myself. "Our family is a mess when they're sick, huh?"

Thor chuckled. "I must agree with you, Beth. I hope that they heal soon. It is troubling to see my companions in such poor constitution."

"If they all would actually rest for longer than five seconds, they could already be on the road to recovery..." I mused.

We heard a shuffling of footsteps. Clint entered the kitchen, rubbing his face and groaning a little.

I was about to chastise him when he put his hand up. "I somehow smelled the soup through all the snot in my head. Can you pour me some?" he asked.

I giggled and winced at his description and nodded. "Sit at the table. Do you want a blanket?" I offered. Clint nodded and sat down. I wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and squeezed. He grunted in appreciation.

Over a span of about five minutes, the rest of the gang came downstairs, each pale and sniffling every other minute. I gave them all blankets and set bowls of soup and glasses of orange juice down in front of them. Nobody really looked at each other, the just glumly slurped their soup. It was the quietest meal to ever take place in the Tower. Thor and I ate at the bar facing the group.

Tony started coughing up a lung, and Clint simply patted his back until it passed. Tony smiled a little and they went back to eating their soup. It was sweet. Natasha was about to crumble her last cracker into her soup but saw that Bruce has none, so she gave it to him. He nodded in thanks and after sneezing four times in a row, he added it to his bowl.

Thor and I watched these scenes play out as we finished our own bowls. Once everybody was done eating, they silently filed back to their rooms.

* * *

I made my bed the couch in case somebody needed another temperature check or cold washcloth in the middle of the night. Sleep came easy after the stress of the day.

I was awoken at nine by Tony. He kept poking me in the face. ""What?" I grumbled, eyes half-closed.

"We were just wondering if you wanted pancakes or waffles." he answered, and I finally noticed that his color had returned and his congestion was gone. He pointed to the kitchen, where the superheroes were all helping make breakfast. Steve was flipping pancakes as Bruce added more batter to the griddle. Clint and Natasha were cutting up watermelon and strawberries while Steve cooked some sausage.

I sat up. "Y'all aren't sick anymore?" I asked, not believing what I was seeing. Nobody looked sick anymore and they were laughing and joking as they prepared the food. Just yesterday the equivalent of the plague was ravaging the Tower.

Tony shrugged. "I don't know how, but suddenly we woke up and we weren't sick anymore. Not even a sniffle. You and Thor must have made magic soup..." he said and rejoined the others.

"Pancakes are fine." I replied, deciding I needed to chat with Point-Break.

I found him on the roof watching the clouds. "Care to join me fair maiden?" he jokingly offered and bowed.

I curtsied. "Why yes, good sir." I sat down next to him. After a moments silence, I nudged him with my elbow. "What did you add to the soup last night?"

Thor looked sheepish and ran his fingers through his hair. "Healing serum. I may or may not have stolen it from the infirmary..." he answered.

I laughed. "I'm sure glad you did. I don't think I could have lasted another day..."

* * *

We were gathered at the table. I had stacked my plate high with pancakes and was currently dousing them in syrupy goodness when I felt a tickle in my nose. _Oh Lord have mercy._

I froze, bottle in hand, my eyes wide. I was afraid to move. "Beth, are you okay?" Steve asked. Everybody stared at me.

Suddenly, I erupted into the biggest sneeze of my lifetime.

"ACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

_You have got to be kidding me. _"Uh, Thor?' I asked, and sniffed. "You wouldn't happen to have any more of that magical stuff leftover from the soup, would ya?"

"I knew it!" Tony exclaimed.

Thor's face dropped into the equivalent guilt of a puppy who chewed his owner's show apart.

"I am afraid not, Beth." he replied.

I let my head drop onto the table and groaned.


End file.
